The safe shipment of vehicles such as cars or light trucks from the manufacturing site to the distributor and ultimately to the customer has always provided a challenge. The mode of transport for automobiles and light trucks in the past has been primarily by tractor-trailer or rail, but in the event of imported cars from overseas, ships are typically used.
Securing the cars to the bed of the truck, train or boat, has typically employed a set of chains. The chains are secured to the floor or bed of the transport vehicle and are attached to a portion of the frame of the transported vehicle. Specifically, a loop or hook of some type has traditionally been welded on some portion of the transported vehicle, so that the vehicle can be "tied down" by chains for transport. Problems associated with the use of chains includes the chains becoming very rusted through exposure to the weather, or developing weak points and thereafter breaking, which results in movement of the cars on the platform, often damaging the cars and also creating safety hazards. Chains can also snap in transit, resulting in damaged vehicles, as well as hazards to the transport vehicle operator. Particularly if vehicles are being transported by a truck, cars could fall off the trucks, injuring or killing occupants in other vehicles.
Another problem associated with the use of chains is the difficulty that the drivers or dock loaders have in securing the chains to the vehicles. In order to attach the chains to the vehicles, it is necessary to get under the car or truck and attach the chain to the car or truck. This is a difficult and a dirty job. Thus, there is a need for an easier way to attach vehicles to platforms for transit.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,708,231, 1,816,897, 4,596,506 and 4,955,459 disclose various methods for restraining wheels or vehicles. However, none of these devices can effectively be used for the wide variety of wheels and vehicle designs sold today.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,227,633 discloses a wheel locking device to secure vehicles on transport vehicles. However, the device has a significant shortcoming in that the arm which retains the wheel rotates inward, towards the wheel. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 3,537,548 discloses a locking mechanism for impeding the rotation of a vehicle wheel, which includes an outwardly pivoting arm for securing a chain to a vehicle wheel. These devices may not be used for many of today's modern vehicles, which utilize a fender or wheel skirt. Such a skirt, which is commonly found on many of today's vehicles such as a Chevrolet Caprice or a Cadillac DeVille have skirts which hide or shield the upper portion of the wheel. Furthermore, many of the new electric cars which are being prototyped have designs which almost totally encompass the wheel for aerodynamic purposes. Sometimes these skirts are removable, but often times they are not. Thus, there is a need for a wheel restraining device that can be attached to the wheel when a fender or wheel skirt is in place.
Another drawback to many of the above devices is the substantial weight which they add to the transporting vehicle, since any added weight may decrease the fuel economy of the transporting vehicle, among other concerns.
Thus, to date, there exists a need for an economical wheel restraining device which can adapt to many dimensions of a wheel, and can be used on all vehicles.
Also in the general area of restraining cargo such as vehicles, but also including other cargos such as lumber, retaining hooks are often used to secure straps or other restraining mechanisms over cargo to secure the cargo during transport. Often, it is somewhat difficult to connect or disconnect such hooks from the transporting vehicle to which the cargo is to be secured. This may be as a result of the attachment point on the transporting vehicle being hidden from view or difficult to reach. In addition, attaching cargo using straps and the like may require multiple operators to attend to the individual hooks while the straps are tightened, e.g., by a ratcheting mechanism.
Therefore, a need also exists for a quick-connect hook which is easily connectable and disconnectable from a transporting vehicle or other object, and which allows cargo to be secured to a vehicle by a single operator.